Statue of Liberty (Photo/AP via CGTN)

Only 17 percent of Americans consider their country to be the "shining city on a hill," according to a July 4 survey jointly made by Yahoo News and YouGov, a global public opinion company.

The famous term of "shining city on a hill" was first brought up by former President Ronald Reagan in his 1989 farewell address, describing the U.S. as a beacon of hope and a model for the rest of the world.

At the time, a majority of Americans (52 percent) believed that Reagan's remark was accurate, and only 21 percent disagreed. However, the new poll shows that 62 percent of Americans no longer believe America can still hold the merit.

The survey was conducted between June 29 and July 1, and 1,525 Americans participated in the survey. 

The poll suggests that the pandemic may be the major reason for Americans' pessimistic outlook, with 65 percent of Americans believing COVID-19 is "getting worse", while just 16 percent saying it's "getting better." In addition, 49 percent Americans think the U.S. coronavirus response is "worse than expected" and only 11 percent think it's "better than expected."

So far, the U.S. reported over 2.85 million cases of COVID-19 and at least 132, 000 Americans have died from the disease.

But American's gloomy outlook goes beyond the pandemic.

The poll shows that 64 percent of Americans say race relations are also getting worse, while 12 percent say race relations are getting better; 61 percent say the economy is getting worse, while 21 percent say it's getting better; 60 percent say America's standing in the world is getting worse, while just 15 percent say it's getting better. And 58 percent say crime is getting worse, while just 10 percent say it's getting better.

It seems that though political parties have become more polarized in the U.S., Americans finally seem to agree on something: that everything about America is getting worse.

Source: CGTN, Xinhua

Editor: Lv Yun